Iracore International LLC, is expanding its Hibbing, Minn. manufacturing facility so that it has the capability to line pipe up to 60-foot long for bitumen mining in the oil sands of northern Alberta, Canada. The operations in Hibbing also produce piping and wear products for taconite, gold, copper and other industries requiring wear resistant products.

Since 2006, Iracore has produced 20 to 50-foot lengths of its patented elastomer-lined pipe, however a recent demand arose in the oil sands industry for 60-foot pipe. The reconfiguration of the Iracore facility and equipment will enable the longer pipe to flow through the plant and meet this market demand.

Bitumen is a thick, heavy crude oil that exists just beneath the earth’s surface within a mixture of clay, sand and water in basins located in Canada, Venezuela, Russia and Siberia. The bitumen-sand mixture is mined and transported through the Iracore pipe to processing plants for separation from the sand mixture and then eventually refined into crude oil products such as gasoline, jet oil and other petroleum products.

“The trademarked Iracore piping products are exported internationally, however we rely on some local Iron Range fabricators to support us with the tooling to produce our piping products,” said Jeremy Smolich, Iracore vice president of manufacturing. “Companies such as RC Fabricators, Tritec, Furin & Shea and others supply goods and services to Iracore, so several local companies will benefit from our expansion.”

The facility expansion began in late March, and the first production of 60-foot pipe will occur in August and travel by truck to Fort McMurray, Canada where their patented technology from the Iron Range will be used to eventually supply fuel throughout the world.  

Along with the urethane lined pipe, Iracore also produces custom rubber, molded and cast urethane products and parts. The company has approximately 85 employees. It was originally founded in 1957 by Zenobio Valeri of Hibbing but has evolved in ownership structure and diversified its product lines over time to meet industry and economic changes. The company is now owned by a diversified group of private equity firms that have invested about five million dollars into the expansion.

This project was supported by a Commercial Redevelopment grant to the City of Hibbing from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. Email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010 for information.

Orthopedic Associates of Duluth (OAD) is expanding its physical and occupational therapy services on the Iron Range. The healthcare provider will soon relocate its Hibbing office in the Mesabi Mall to the nearby former Pizza Hut building on East Beltline Road, which is being increased in size from 2,500 to 4,100 square feet. (Pictured)

The former Pizza Hut building is owned by Miner’s Inc., owner and operator of Super One Foods. Miner's used its private funds to finance the expansion of the building that it will soon lease to OAD.

To accommodate the OAD relocation, the city of Hibbing reconstructed approximately 750 feet of sanitary sewer line that services OAD and several other businesses in the area including a pharmacy, machine service shop, and a mining equipment and services supplier. The original sanitary line was deemed too shallow and susceptible to freezing. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation provided the city of Hibbing a Development Infrastructure grant to help pay for the sewer line reconstruction.

“Expanding specialized healthcare in our region is good for our residents and our economy,” said John Tourville, Hibbing’s economic developer. “It adds to the quality of life, keeps patients doctoring on the Iron Range and increases Hibbing’s commercial tax base.”

With the expansion, OAD will add four additional employees for a total of 11 permanent full-time positions including physicians, clinicians and support staff. In addition, the building expansion and sewer reconstruction has already or will provide 11 construction jobs, according to Tourville.

OAD’s team of board-certified surgeons began seeing patients in the new location this week. OAD has provided specialized healthcare in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin for more than 40 years.

Email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010 for information.

Situated in the center of Virginia, Olcott Park is home to an 80-year old historic electric fountain that was built during the Great Depression and is currently undergoing a major restoration scheduled for completion this summer.

Constructed in 1936-37 through the federally funded Works Progress Administration (WPA), the project was part of a nationwide effort under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal which employed millions of Americans during the depression. The fountain was built by 100 Iron Rangers, 70 of whom were WPA workers.

Excluding the World War II years of 1941 to 1945, the iconic fountain ran continuously from 1937 until the 1990s and surged 30 feet in the air with colored lights and 360 water spray variations per hour. General Electric built the fountain’s mechanism, and that technology was showcased at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago during 1933 and 1934. The fountain had surrounding terraced rock gardens and an observation deck, and it became a popular gathering place for both local residents and tourists.

Although well maintained by the city’s parks and recreation department, the fountain began experiencing mechanical failures in the 1990s, and replacement parts for the 1930s-era electrical and plumbing systems could no longer be obtained. Consequently, the fountain ceased to run in 2013.

Former Virginia Parks and Recreation Commission President Greg Gilness in 2015 began a volunteer grassroots movement to restore the fountain to working order. Gilness and many Iron Range residents and businesses launched a fundraising campaign that has to date collected $500,000 from over 1,400 donors for the $1-million-dollar restoration project. In addition, the project has received support from various grants and in-kind professional services.

“This restoration has been a tremendous collaborative effort within our city and surrounding communities” said Gilness. “The fountain will once again serve as a landmark to the perseverance and ingenuity of the people of the Iron Range.”

The National Park Service officially listed the Olcott Park Electric Fountain and Rock Garden in the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 2017, placing it in the company of sites across the nation that have been declared worthy of preservation in order to protect America’s historic and archaeological resources.

This project was supported by a Development Infrastructure grant to the city of Virginia from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation. Email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010 for information.

Pictured above is a rendering of the Olcott Park fountain restoration. 

Two new workforce housing developments are under construction on the North Shore, one in Lutsen and the other in Grand Marais, in response to the top economic development challenge identified by Cook County officials and businesses. Construction will begin this month in Lutsen and continue in Grand Marais. Both projects are scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

“Area resorts, healthcare facilities and other businesses have open positions to fill, but job applicants have cited the housing stock shortage as the number one deterrent from accepting jobs in our region,” said Mary Somnis, Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) executive director. “Many of the openings are full-time and year round with good wages and salaries.”

According to Somnis, a majority of the North Shore housing inventory are second homes or vacation rentals. Cook County’s goal is to not only create workforce housing, but to ensure that it is permanently affordable to subsequent buyers. There will be resale restrictions in place so that future buyers must also be income qualified. One Roof Community Housing of Duluth was selected as the lead developer and financial partner for the two new developments.

Nordic Star in Grand Marias will consist of eight to 10 single family Community Land Trust homes which helps income-qualifying families build equity through home ownership and also preserves the affordability of the homes for future residents. Half of the homes will be affordably priced for households that earn up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), and half will be priced for buyers who earn up to 115 percent of the AMI. Six applications have been pre-approved as meeting the income qualifications.

The Lutsen development will be a 16-unit apartment complex consisting of eight one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom apartments. Rent will be set at affordable levels for the local workforce. The development is projected to create two permanent and 17 construction jobs.

Both housing developments are a financial and resource collaboration between Cook County, the EDA, City of Grand Marais, One Roof Community Housing, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, Community Land Trust, Minnesota Department of Economic Development, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, area businesses and private citizens.

“We are so appreciative of the development infrastructure grant from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation which helped pay for the site development and utilities,” said Somnis. “The grant keeps the rent affordable for our area’s workforce and is instrumental in improving our region’s economy and quality of life.”

Email Chris Ismil or call him at 218-735-3010 for information.

Pictured above left is the Nordic Star groundbreaking in Grand Marais and above right is the Lutsen housing groundbreaking. 

Kids ages 1 to 18 can enjoy a free nutritious lunch and a fun physical activity each weekday this summer at Silver Lake Beach in Virginia through “Meet Up and Chow Down Recharged.”

United Way of Northeastern Minnesota (UWNEMN) first launched Meet Up and Chow Down in Chisholm in 2016, and in 2017 expanded into Hibbing and served 3,205 meals combined in the two communities. Now in 2018 through the Recharge the Range economic development initiative, United Way is teaming up with Mesabi Family YMCA to bring the program to Virginia for the first time and add a physical activity and health education component.

Meet Up and Chow Down began as a summer supplement to UWNEMN’s Buddy Backpacks program that serves 787 kids during the school year on the Iron Range, where about 47% of enrolled children qualify for free or reduced lunch. The kids who are at-risk of going hungry over the weekends (about 3-5% of school populations) receive a backpack filled with nutritious, nonperishable, child-friendly food items.

“Our Board of Directors urged us to create a summer food program during the summer months when Buddy Backpacks isn’t available. It is our goal to provide Meet Up and Chow Down across our service territory,” said Elizabeth Kelly of UWNEMN. “We are excited about the Meet Up and Chow Down Recharged program partnership and anticipate that it will be a huge success.”

Following lunch, activities such as kickball, soccer, arts and crafts, yoga, community gardening, farmers' market participation, swimming and logrolling will be offered by YMCA staff who are all trained and vetted. “The Y has offered kids summer day camps for a long time, so taking part in Meet Up and Chow Down is a natural fit for us,” said Chad Buggert of Mesabi Family YMCA.

There are no income guidelines for kids to participate in any of the Meet Up and Chow Downs, which are all in part funded through Minnesota Department of Education and the USDA. Along with Virginia, it will be held in Chisholm, Hibbing, Eveleth and Nashwauk this summer. Email Elizabeth Kelly or call her at 218-295-2424 for more information.

Recharge the Range was formed in 2015 by Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation during an iron mining industry downturn. It is comprised of volunteer community-led action committees that are working to improve business, community, workforce and quality of life for all in the Iron Range.

A new watercraft exhibit is under construction at Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center located 57 miles northwest of Grand Marais up the Gunflint Trail. When completed next year, the 24 by 36-foot building will house up to 12 vintage watercraft that were at one time integral to early life on the Gunflint Trail.  

The museum is located within the historic Chik-Wauk Lodge on Saganaga Lake and presents the area's cultural and natural history through interpretive and interactive exhibits. Since it opened in 2010, the museum has educated people about the Gunflint Trail's prehistoric beginnings and people who helped shape the region, including Native Americans, Voyageurs, miners, loggers, resort owners and residents.

“The canoes and boats were donated by private resort owners and citizens and will tell the unique stories of how the Gunflint community was explored, settled and grew,” said Dave Tuttle of Gunflint Trail Historical Society. “The new watercraft exhibit building was supported through a tremendous amount of private financial donations, many volunteer hours, and some state grant funding.”

Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center has 8,000 visitors annually and is open daily Memorial Day weekend through the third weekend of October. Managed by the Gunflint Trail Historical Society, the museum encompasses a nature center, interpretive center with historical artifacts and a network of nature trails crossing the 50-acre grounds.

This project was supported through a Culture and Tourism grant from Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, as well a Legacy grant from the Minnesota Historical Society. Email Danae Beaudette or call her at 218-735-3022 for more information. 

Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation has openings for the following permanent, full-time positions at its Eveleth administrative building:

Heavy Equipment Field Mechanic

The position repairs and maintains the agency’s fleet and inventory of vehicles and heavy equipment. 

Learn more and apply online. Job ID number is 23273.

Application deadline: 5/18/18

Building Maintenance Supervisor

This position maintains, plans, directs, evaluates, oversees, supervises and coordinates the activities and operation of the agency’s facilities and fleet. 

Learn more and apply online. Job ID number is 23516.

Application deadline: 5/18/18

Loan Officer

This position helps develop, implement and promote the financing and equity investment programs of the Business Development Division. 

Learn more and apply online. Job ID number is 23672.

Application deadline: 5/25/18

Questions?

For all positions, contact Kerri Dahl with questions at kerri.dahl@state.mn.us or 218-735-3009.

Equal Opportunity Employer